Prosecutors want tests on teen videotaped

Published 7:00 pm, Friday, January 4, 2008

The prosecution's "unusual" request was made in a motion scheduled to be argued in Superior Court on Jan. 14 in the case of 18-year-old Panna Krom.

In his motion, Danbury State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky asks that any "psychiatric, mental and/or psychological tests" that might be used as the basis of opinion evidence be videotaped.

Sedensky writes that he anticipates the defense will have these tests done to use at trial or to use as the basis of an expert opinion. "The state should have an opportunity to have an expert observe the tests that are done," Sedensky writes.

Krom is charged with murder and risk of injury to a child on Dec. 28, 2006. Since her arrest on Jan. 4, 2007, she has been in custody on $750,000 bond. She was on a suicide watch for many months, but according to a marking in the court file, the suicide watch was removed Nov. 7. No explanation was given.

At the time of her arrest, Krom was a Danbury High School senior, earning As and Bs. She had applied to colleges, including Boston College, where she wanted to major in business management.

The incident occurred at the home where Krom lived with her parents on Fifth Avenue in Danbury.

Criminal defense lawyer James Diamond, who was once a Danbury prosecutor, said the request for videotaped tests sounds rare to him.

"I've never heard of a motion like that in my career. That doesn't mean it's never done, but it sounds pretty unusual to me," said Diamond, who is not connected to the case.

Diamond said it sounds like "they are seeking to question the reliability of the examination by basically being in the room while it's done by a video camera."

Sedensky declined to comment on the case. He said it is pending and he is "not at liberty to talk."